Research and analysis

Fleet compliance check summary report, 2014 to 2015

Published 19 November 2015

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

1. About this summary report

As a commercial driver, you might be asked to stop by the police or a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) officer. They can stop lorries, buses and coaches.

The police and DVSA have the power to carry out spot checks on your vehicle and issue prohibitions if necessary.

Find out more about roadside vehicle checks for commercial drivers.

1.1 What this report shows

This report summarises the roadworthiness and traffic compliance of:

  • Great Britain registered public service vehicles
  • all heavy goods vehicles and trailers

The checks detailed in this report were carried out on randomly selected vehicles at randomly selected roadside sites throughout Great Britain.

This report has been prepared for DVSA by the Department for Transport’s In House Analytical Consultancy.

2. Prohibition or serious offence

2.1 Summary for 2014 to 2015

Vehicle type Vehicles issues with a prohibition/serious offence Vehicles not issued with a prohibition/serious offence Total vehicles checked
Great Britain vehicle 240 2,335 2,575
Great Britain trailer 135 1,240 1,375
Great Britain traffic 210 2,371 2,581
Non-Great Britain vehicle 382 2,152 2,534
Non-Great Britain trailer 514 1,945 2,459
Non-Great Britain traffic 419 2,155 2,574
PSV vehicle (condition) 122 1,339 1,461
PSV traffic (coach)* 92 1,170 1,262

*2013/2014 offence rate.

Prohibition and serious offence rate

Vehicle type % of vehicles stopped that led to a prohibition or serious offence
Great Britain vehicle 9.3%
Great Britain trailer 9.8%
Great Britain traffic 8.1%
Non-Great Britain vehicle 15.1%
Non-Great Britain trailer 20.9%
Non-Great Britain traffic 16.3%
PSV vehicle (condition) 8.4%
PSV traffic (coach)* 7.3%

*2013/2014 offence rate.

2.2 Historical information

The tables below show the historic figure on the number of stops and prohibitions issued by DVSA.

Where ‘No data’ shows, it’s because either:

  • the checks were done in alternate years
  • no records are available

Number of prohibitions issued

Vehicle type 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Great Britain HGV 596 506 408 464 518 372 310 No data 368 No data 374 252 259 275 240
Great Britain trailer 218 166 166 258 243 128 177 No data 186 No data 227 170 161 180 135
Great Britain traffic 209 217 250 344 409 291 322 No data 472 No data 425 316 355 258 210
Non-Great Britain HGV No data No data No data No data 173 No data 612 No data 469 No data 592 343 394 470 382
Non-Great Britain trailer No data No data No data No data 285 No data 709 No data 398 No data 758 466 561 588 514
Non-Great Britain traffic No data No data No data No data 431 No data 741 No data 661 No data 411 286 317 303 419

Number of checks

Vehicle type 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Great Britain vehicle 4,516 3,613 3,383 4,030 4,594 4,226 3,489 No data 3,773 No data 3,609 2,445 2,621 2,694 2,575
Great Britain trailer 1,752 1,525 1,365 1,584 1,891 1,601 1,430 No data 1,701 No data 1,712 1,397 1,370 1,408 1,375
Great Britain traffic 4,516 3,614 3,383 4,030 4,594 4,226 3,489 No data 3,773 No data 3,440 2,457 2,638 2,703 2,581
Non-Great Britain HGV No data No data No data No data 2,015 No data 2,784 No data 2,778 No data 2,715 2,410 2,581 2,660 2,534
Non-Great Britain trailer No data No data No data No data 1,904 No data 2,693 No data 2,691 No data 2,605 2,338 2,502 2,592 2,459
Non-Great Britain traffic No data No data No data No data 2,015 No data 2,923 No data 2,778 No data 2,852 2,480 2,611 2,682 2,574

3. Vehicle and trailer defect rates

3.1 Total number of vehicle and trailer checks

Vehicle type Total number checked
Great Britain vehicle 2,575
Great Britain trailer 1,375
Non-Great Britain vehicle 2,534
Non-Great Britain trailer 2,459
PSV condition 1,461

3.2 Vehicle and trailer defect volumes

Vehicle type Immediate Delayed Inspection notice No defect
Great Britain vehicle 82 158 373 1,962  
Great Britain trailer 44 91 129 1,111  
Non-Great Britain vehicle 122 260 269 1,883  
Non-Great Britain trailer 110 404 158 1,787  
PSV condition 45 77 409 930  

3.3 Vehicle and trailer defect rates

Vehicle type % Immediate % Delayed % Inspection notice % No defect
Great Britain vehicle 3.2% 6.1% 14.5% 76.2%  
Great Britain trailer 3.2% 6.6% 9.4% 80.8%  
Non-Great Britain vehicle 4.8% 10.3% 10.6% 74.3%  
Non-Great Britain trailer 4.5% 16.4% 6.4% 72.7%  
PSV condition 3.1% 5.3% 28.0% 63.7%  

4. Traffic offence rate

4.1 Total number of traffic stops

Type Total number stopped
Great Britain traffic 2,581
Non-Great Britain traffic 2,574

4.2 Traffic offence volumes

Type Serious Warning No traffic offence
Great Britain traffic 210 57 2,314  
Non-Great Britain traffic 419 35 2,120  

4.3 Traffic offence rate

Type % Serious % Warning % No traffic offence
Great Britain traffic 8.1% 2.2% 89.7%  
Non-Great Britain traffic 16.3% 1.4% 82.4%  

The rise in the serious offence rate for non-Great Britain vehicles is partly due to the introduction of the road user levy this year and some roads users were found not paying it.